Posts about newsanalysis

Daylife.com (where, full disclosure, I am a partner) gathers and analyzes the world’s news and that allows it to learn some fascinating things about the media’s coverage of the presidential race. Their latest looks at the quotes that were picked up most often by press. In short, these are the sound bites that resonated in the press this week, the spin that sticks. For each candidate:

Barack Obama:“All of our top military commanders recognize that there is no military solution in Iraq” Hillary Rodham Clinton: “I do not think that a president should give away the bargaining chip of a personal meeting with any leader unless you know what you are going to get out of that” Christopher Dodd: “You’re not going to have time in January of ‘09 to get ready for this job” John Edwards: “Elizabeth is a strong woman who speaks her mind and I applaud her for that” Mitt Romney: “We must not weaken our policy on Cuba until the Castro regime is dismantled, all political prisoners are freed and Cuba transitions to free and fair elections” Sam Brownback: “It’s much more akin to the conversation that happens around the dining-room table in Nashua (N.H.) or at the state fair in Iowa rather than on a stage with a dozen candidates all trying to squeeze in their consultant-crafted sound bites” Joe Biden: “This war must end, but there’s much more at stake as to how it ends” John McCain: “We’re starting to succeed, and I think we’re seeing some shift in public opinion”Bill Richardson: “I believe that if you leave any residual forces, then none of the peace that we are trying to bring can happen” Mike Gravel: “I’m going to vote for myself” Rudy Giuliani: “I took a city that had just about the highest illegality rates in the country and took it down to one of the lowest.” Dennis Kucinich: “George, I’ve been standing here for the last 45 minutes, praying to God you were going to call on me” Tom Tancredo: “I am encouraging the families of the victims to pursue the option of a lawsuit in light of this culpability”

While we’re at it, Ken Ellis, Daylife’s chief scientist, also looked at the most common quotes across all news sourcdes and topics since midnight Sunday. The context isn’t always apparent — which is actually what makes it more fun – so follow the links to each newsmaker’s Daylife page:

George W. Bush: “Clearly, the Iraqi government’s got to do more”Billy Martin: “Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made”Ruth Westheimer: “Bravo that the New England Journal of Medicine is publishing something like that. It’s about time”John Charles: “People with cancer are surviving longer, elderly people are living longer”Michael V. Hayden: “I thought the release of this report would distract officers serving their country on the front lines of a global conflict”Marlon Byrd: “This is something freaky. You won’t see anything like this again for a long, long time. I am glad I was on this end of it”Rob Moore: “It’s likely these miners may not be found”Ozzie Smith: “It truly is an honor to stand with the very best defensive players”Portia Simpson Miller: “Do not wait for the last minute to make the decision to move from where you are”Bob Murray: “Had I known that this evil mountain, this alive mountain, would do what it did, I would never have sent the miners in here”